Hard turning with a ceramic insert

This is a short example of hard turning in our NLX-2500SY700. The material is available a "Thompson shaft" and is a carbon steel that has a case hardened outer layer about .05" thick. It comes pre ground to standard sizes and is widley used in industry. The purpose of the ceramic insert in this case is to remove the hardened outer layer, so that standard carbide cutting tools can be used on the soft inner layer after. This part was at the end of a run, my carbide inserts were starting to wear, and that is the reason for the sparks. The material, speeds and feeds involved with proper use of ceramic tools regularly generates a chip that looks like a glowing ribbon, and provides some interesting visual effect.